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Frugal and Energy Efficient Living

dimbear

(6,271 posts)

13. A few trips from a brutal fringe area.

Reply to Fumesucker (Original post)

Thu Jan 12, 2012, 05:21 AM

Jan 2012

I needed a pretty elaborate setup to get much going. Rotatable multibay antenna, masthead amp, and so on. One thing worth knowing is that the set top boxes seem to be better tuners than some of the new TVs themselves are. I know that the one actual digital TV I own only gets one channel all by itself, even with plenty of signal, while the set top boxes bring in a dozen.

Anyway, don't be afraid to experiment with your setup. I know my best reception comes from pointing the antenna away from the stations instead of toward them--my signal is being bounced off the side of a mountain.

And when it rains and snows, the signal just goes. At least it's free.

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The frugal way to do TV... [View all] Fumesucker Jan 2012 OP

On antennas (antennae).. Fumesucker Jan 2012 #1

I am on dialup Tsiyu Jan 2012 #9

Here's an extremely simple but fairly effective homemade antenna made from one piece of wire.. Fumesucker Jan 2012 #10

Thanks! Tsiyu Jan 2012 #11

My pleasure.. Fumesucker Jan 2012 #12

DIY Antennas - I have made several of these, and get excellent UHF reception, but VHF is not as good ad2atlga Nov 2014 #27

What you want is a folded dipole tuned to the frequency Fumesucker Nov 2014 #28

You are so right. cbayer Jan 2012 #2

I agree. I went off of cable as soon as the stations Curmudgeoness Jan 2012 #3

Thanks so much this! onestepforward Jan 2012 #4

Searching through the reviews on indoor antennas on Amazon, this unit stands out for great reviews.. Fumesucker Jan 2012 #5

Those are great ideas. How about local and building interference? When I lived in very rural area... freshwest Jan 2012 #6

Digital broadcasting is a good bit less prone to static.. Fumesucker Jan 2012 #7

Thanks for your time and the excellent information. freshwest Jan 2012 #8

A few trips from a brutal fringe area. dimbear Jan 2012 #13

I've done some more research and found out something about the converter boxes.. Fumesucker Feb 2012 #20

Interesting article, thanx. Most of my equipment is ChannelMaster, always open dimbear Feb 2012 #21

Cable or satellite is an insidious financial drain... Fumesucker Feb 2012 #22

I tried 2 different converter boxes and neither one gave me a picture. kestrel91316 Feb 2012 #14

Where is your attenna? And what kind are you using? cbayer Feb 2012 #15

I used rabbit ears for years. They went into the trash. kestrel91316 Feb 2012 #17

We use a $30 antenna from Radio Shack (TV is already HD ready). It makes a lot of difference. cbayer Feb 2012 #18

I've been using these converters from Amazon.com with great success. For a number of RKP5637 Mar 2012 #23

It may not be completely obvious how to hook everything together.. Fumesucker Feb 2012 #16

This is a great post, thanks. k&r Little Star Feb 2012 #19

We got DirecTV because of hills blocking signals, but pay $1/month for it. uppityperson Mar 2012 #24

THere is always Hulu.com n/t guardian May 2012 #25

You could get a lot of programs on Hulu for free. RebelOne Dec 2014 #31

RCA preamp TVPRAMP1R dimbear May 2012 #26

Good info here... sendero Dec 2014 #29

we've been doing Roku for years, but i just ordered an Amazon Fire TV box NMDemDist2 Dec 2014 #30

Wood board with old wire clothes hangers cut, bent and attached to it, each other and then the tv. Jetboy Dec 2014 #32

Thanks for Posting! Sherman A1 Jan 2015 #33

I'm finally dropping my cable at the end of the month. xmas74 Jun 2015 #34